Throttle valve for an internal combustion engine provided with a conditioning circuit

ABSTRACT

A throttle valve for an internal combustion engine provided with a valve body, a tubular feeding duct defined in the valve body, a throttle plate, and an actuating device which controls rotation of the throttle plate. The actuating device includes an electric motor and an actuating device conditioning circuit defined in the valve body. The conditioning circuit includes a tube made of a first material able to conduct heat, and the valve body is entirely made of a second metal material and is provided with a seat for housing the tube, in which is provided a layer of a structural and heat-conducting resin, interposed between the seat and the tube.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to and all the benefits ofItalian Patent Application No. BO2014A000349, filed on Jun. 26, 2014,which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention elates to a throttle valve for an internalcombustion engine provided with a conditioning circuit.

2. Description of the Related Art

A throttle valve, which is arranged upstream of an intake manifold andadjusts the flow rate of the air which is fed to the cylinders, isnormally provided in internal combustion engines. Conventional throttlevalves typically have a valve body provided with a tubular feeding ductthrough which the intake or compressed air for the internal combustionengine flows. A throttle plate is housed in the feeding duct and issplined to a rotating shaft to rotate between an opening position and aclosing position of the feeding duct. The rotation of the throttle valveplate is controlled by an actuator device which typically includes anelectric motor coupled to the throttle valve plate shaft via a geardrive and at least one spring which pushes the throttle valve plateshaft towards the closing position (or rather towards a limp-homeposition close to the closing position).

The electric motor has a cylindrical body which is arranged in a tubularhousing of the valve body arranged by the side of the feeding duct. Thegear drive is arranged in a chamber of the valve body, which is definedby two shells: a first shell defining a removable lid and a second shellarranged next to the feeding duct and next to the tubular housing.

The valve body further includes a conditioning circuit which is definedby a channel, which may assume various conformations and routes. Wherethe channel is substantially L-shaped, it has a major branch provided inthe upper portion of the second shell and a minor branch provided in theupper portion of the tubular housing. The channel is in hydrauliccommunication with a pump, which circulates conditioning fluid and feedsthe channel itself for conditioning the various parts of the throttlevalve.

Published European Patent No. EP1348850 describes, for example, athrottle valve provided with a heating circuit adapted to prevent thefreezing of the valve itself provided with an elastically deformabletube made of a fuel and oil resistant rubberized fabric arranged in avariable section channel of an appendix of the valve body having asmaller diameter than the diameter of the elastically deformable tubewhich is arranged inside it. Published German Patent No. DE19625154instead describes a device for heating a throttle valve made with anappropriately shaped tube which is connected to the valve body viamechanical fixing, such as a pair of brackets for example. Further, alayer of heat-conducting paste is interposed between the tube of theheating device and the valve body. The heat-conducting paste does nothave a structural function and therefore mechanical fixing is are neededto connect the tube to the valve body.

The entire valve body of most conventional throttle valves is made ofmetallic material, such as aluminum, and is monolithic (i.e. is formedseamlessly in one piece).

The valve body (i.e. the second shell, the feeding duct, and the tubehousing) is made by casting (normally die-casting) and, if needed, isthen mechanically machined. Pinholes and/or micro air bubbles may formin the valve body because the material is injected at relatively hightemperatures (in the order of 700° C.), at equally high pressures (inthe order of 1000 bar), and very rapidly for manufacturing the valvebody by casting (normally die-casting). The pinholes and/or microbubbles are difficult to see with unaided eye (but are visible onlyunder X rays) and are difficult to identify during the step of settingand tuning the throttle valve.

Such pinholes and/or micro bubbles are particularly dangerous becausewith the aging of the valve body and, in the case of relatively highpressures involved, the passage of conditioning fluid in theconditioning circuit channel may put different micro bubbles into mutualcommunication and thereby cause the formation of channels for thepassage of conditioning fluid towards the other components, inparticular towards the electric motor, towards the feeding duct, ortowards the outside environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to provide a throttle valvefor an internal combustion engine provided with a conditioning circuit,where the throttle valve is free from the drawbacks of the prior art andis easy and cost-effective to make at the same time.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method formaking a throttle valve for an internal combustion engine which is freefrom the drawbacks of the prior art and which is easy and cost-effectiveto implement at the same time.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages in the related art ina throttle valve for an internal combustion engine. The throttle valveincludes a valve body entirely made of a first metallic material. Atubular feeding duct is defined in the valve body, and air taken in bythe internal combustion engine flows through the tubular feeding duct. Athrottle plate arranged inside the feeding duct is splined to a shaftmounted in a rotary manner so as to rotate around a rotation axisbetween a maximum opening position and a closing position to open andclose the feeding duct. An actuating device controls the rotation of thethrottle plate around the rotation axis and includes an electric motorand a gear drive transmits motion from the electric motor to the shaftof the throttle plate. An actuating device conditioning circuit isdefined in the valve body and includes a tube for the passage of aconditioning fluid. The valve body includes a seat for housing the tube.The tube is made of a second material able to conduct heat and may beselected from a group including steel, aluminum, or copper. Asubstantially uniform layer of a structural and heat-conducting resin isprovided interposed between the seat and the tube and applied on theentire available surface of the seat so as to allow fixing of the tubein the seat.

The present invention is also directed toward a method of manufacturingthe throttle plate. The method includes the steps of: manufacturing thevalve body provided with the seat by causing the second metal materialto undergo a die casting process; applying a trace of the structural andthermosetting resin on the bottom of the seat; and inserting the tubeinto the seat so as to obtain a substantially uniform layer of thestructural and thermosetting resin, which is interposed between the seatand the tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will bereadily appreciated as the same becomes better understood after readingthe subsequent description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, partially exploded view with parts removed forclarity of a throttle valve made according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view with parts removed for clarity of the throttlevalve in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view with parts removed for clarity of the throttlevalve in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conditioning circuit of the throttlevalve in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the detail of the conditioning circuit in FIG.4 in various different, subsequent steps of the manufacturing method ofthe throttle valve in FIG. 1 from the front.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawing(s), in FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 1indicates as a whole an electronically controlled throttle valve for aninternal combustion engine (not shown, but generally known in the art).The throttle valve 1 includes a valve body 2 housing an electric motor 3(see FIG. 2), a tubular circular section feeding duct 4 through whichthe air aspirated by the internal combustion engine flows, and athrottle valve plate 5 (diagrammatically shown with a dashed line),which is circular, engages the feeding duct 4, and rotates between anopening position and a closing position of the feeding duct 4 under thebias of the actuator device. The throttle valve plate 5 is splined ontoa shaft 6 having a longitudinal rotation axis 7 to rotate between theopening position and the closing position under the bias of the actuatordevice.

As shown in FIG. 2, the actuator device includes the electric motor 3which is coupled to the shaft 6 itself via a gear drive 8, a returnspring coupled to the shaft 6 (not shown) and adapted to rotate thethrottle valve 5 towards the closing position, and a contrast springcoupled to the shaft 6 (not shown) and adapted to rotate the throttlevalve plate 5 towards a partial opening position or limp-home positiondefined by a stopper body (not shown) against the bias of the returnspring.

The electric motor 3 has a cylindrical body, which is arranged in atubular housing 9 (shown in FIG. 1) of the valve body 2 arranged by theside of the feeding duct 4 and is maintained in a determined position inthe tubular housing 9 by a metallic plate provided with a pair of femaleelectric connectors 10 (see FIG. 2), which are electrically connected tothe electric motor 3 and are adapted to be engaged with a pair ofrespective male electric connectors 11 (see FIG. 1).

The gear drive 8 is arranged in a chamber 12 (see FIG. 2) of the valvebody 2, which is defined by a first shell 13* and a second shell 13**.The first shell 13* defines a removable lid 13* (see FIG. 1) and asecond shell 13** is arranged by the side of the feeding duct 4 and nextto the tubular housing 9.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the throttle valve 1 includes an inductivecontactless type position sensor, which is coupled to the shaft 6 and isadapted to detect the angular position of the shaft 6 (and, thus, of thethrottle valve plate 5) to allow a feedback control of the position ofthe throttle valve plate 5 itself. The position sensor includes a rotor14 (see in FIG. 2) integral with the shaft 6, and a stator 15 (seeFIG. 1) supported by the removable lid 13* and arranged facing the rotor14 in use.

As shown in FIG. 1, the removable lid 13* is provided with a femaleelectric connector 16, which includes a series of electric contacts (notshown in detail): two electric contacts are connected to the maleelectric connectors 11 adapted to supply the electric motor 3, whileother electric contacts are connected to the stator 15 of the positionsensor.

The valve body 2 is entirely made of a first material, internallydefines the feeding duct 4, and includes the tubular housing 9, which isarranged by the side of the feeding duct 4 and houses the electric motor3 and the chamber 12, which houses the gear transmission 8 and is closedby the removable lid 13*. In other words, the shell 13**, the feedingduct 4, and the tubular housing 9 are made of the first material

In one embodiment, the valve body 2 (i.e. the shell 13**, the feedingduct 4, and the tubular housing 9) is made of a metallic material, suchas aluminum. Advantageously, the throttle valve 5 is made of the firstmetallic material of which the valve body 2 is made. Alternatively, thethrottle valve plate 5 is made of a metallic material which is differentfrom the metallic material of which the valve body 2 is made, but whichbehaves similarly to the first metallic material of which the valve body2 is made. In this manner, the two parts which cooperate to define theclosing of the feeding duct 4 are made of the same material (or in casesof mutually similar metallic materials) and thus have substantially thesame type of behavior to heat variations and to aging.

As shown in FIG. 3, the valve body 2 includes a conditioning circuit 17which, in turn, includes a seat 18 and a tube 19. In plan view, the seat18 is substantially L-shaped and has a major branch 18* provided in theupper portion of the shell 13**, a minor branch 18** provided in theupper portion of the tubular housing 9, and a curved connecting stretch18*** between the major branch 18* and the minor branch 18**. The seat18 accommodates the tube 19 inside, which is made of a second materialand is also substantially L-shaped having a major branch 19*, a minorbranch 19**, and a curve connecting stretch 19*** between the majorbranch and the minor branch. In one embodiment, the second material ofwhich the tube 19 is made is chosen from a group including: steel(advantageously, stainless steel), copper, aluminum, or any othermaterial with good heat exchange capacity. As shown in detail in FIGS. 5and 6, in section, the seat 18 is circular segment shaped, is open onthe top, and the shape of the inner surface 20 which defines the seat 18itself is substantially complementary to the outer surface 21 of thetube 19. The tube 19 is in hydraulic communication with a pump (notshown) which circulates conditioning fluid and feeds fluid to the tube19 to condition the various parts of the throttle valve 1.

The valve body 2 (i.e. the shell 13**, the feeding duct 4, and the tubehousing 9) is made by casting (normally die-casting) and, if needed, isthen mechanically machined. In other words, the first material of whichthe valve body 2 (i.e. the shell 13**, the feeding duct 4, and thetubular housing 9) is made by injection co-molding so as to define theseat 18 provided for housing the tube 19.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 3-6, the tube 19 is inserted in the seat 18provided in the valve body 2 once the casting process of the valve body2 itself is completed.

A trace T of structural and heat-conducting resin is applied once thecasting process of the valve body 2 is completed. The trace T of thestructural and heat-conducting resin is deposited with a specificapplication tool, advantageously on the bottom of the seat 18 itself (asshown in FIGS. 4 and 5). In one embodiment, a structural andheat-conducting resin is used, the basic fluidity of which is variablefrom liquid to semi-solid. In one embodiment, a structuralheat-conducting and thermosetting resin is used. In other alternativeembodiments, the structural heat-conducting resin is epoxy, orpolyurethane or acrylic based.

It will be appreciated that the resin used for the trace T hasstructural value to allow the anchoring of the tube 19 in the seat 18and, at the same time, allows the transmission of heat between theconditioning fluid which circulates the tube 19 and the various parts ofthe throttle valve 1.

After having deposited the trace T of the structural and heat-conductingresin, the tube 19 is inserted in the seat 18. The resin present on thebottom of the seat 18 moves upwards so as to completely skim the innersurface 20 of the seat 18 and partially the outer surface 21 of the tube19 so as not to protrude from the seat 18 towards an upper surface 22 ofthe valve body 2. A substantially uniform layer S of structural andheat-conducting resin is thus formed between the seat 18 and the tube 19(see FIG. 6).

In one embodiment, the valve body 2 is substantially subjected to athermal treatment (e.g. via infrared, induction, or via passage inpolymerization ovens) to allow to complete the polymerization of thestructural and heat-conducting resin. Alternatively, the structural andheat-conducting resin may be of the thermosetting type. A monocomponentstructural and heat-conducting resin or a bicomponent structural andheat-conducting resin may be advantageously applied; the polymerizationtemperature of the structural and heat-conducting resin is variable as afunction of the components of the structural and heat-conducting resinitself.

Once polymerized, the resin can constrain the tube 19 to the seat 18 andfurther allows the heat exchange between the conditioning fluid and theair aspirated by the internal combustion engine which flows through thetubular feeding duct 4 defined in the valve body 2. Furthermore, thestructural and heat-conducting resin has a high resistance to thermalshocks and relatively high working temperatures (in the order of 380°C.) equal to double the temperatures which can be found in the valvebody 2.

In one embodiment, the seat 18 is open on the top and the tube 19 isrigidly constrained to the seat 18 exclusively via the structural andheat-conductive resin. In other words, there are no mechanical locksconstraining the tube 19 in the specific seat 18.

In one variant, a mechanical lock (not shown) of the tube 19 in thespecific seat 18 are provided, as for example a number of fixingbrackets or plates distributed along the entire length of the tube 19.

It will be appreciated that the conditioning circuit 17 may havealternatively different conformations from the substantially L-shapeconformation described above. In particular, according to alternativevariants, the conditioning circuit 17 (i.e. the seat 18 and tube 19) hasa rectilinear shape and is provided in the upper portion of the shell13** or in the upper portion of the tubular housing 9.

The throttle valve 1 described above has many advantages. In particular,the valve body 2 of the throttle valve 1 described above is simple andcost-effective to make because it can be easily made by injectionmolding the valve body 2 (i.e. the shell 13**, the feeding duct 4, andthe tubular housing 9) and subsequently applying the resin for lockingthe tube 19 in the seat 18. Furthermore, the valve body 2 of thethrottle valve 1 described above has extremely low weight andmanufacturing costs. Moreover, the throttle valve 1 allows to preventthe passage of conditioning fluid used in the conditioning circuit andcontained in the tube 19 towards, for example, the electric motor 3, thefeeding duct 4, or towards the outside environment during use,independently from aging in use.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is to beunderstood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be inthe nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Manymodifications and variations of the invention are possible in light ofthe above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appended claims,the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A throttle valve for an internal combustionengine comprising: a valve body entirely made of a first metallicmaterial and defined by at least a first and a second shell portion; atubular feeding duct defined in the valve body and through which the airtaken in by the internal combustion engine flows; a throttle platearranged inside the feeding duct and splined to a shaft mounted in arotary manner so as to rotate around a rotation axis between a maximumopening position and a closing position to open and close the feedingduct; an actuating device for controlling rotation of the throttle platearound the rotation axis, the actuating device including an electricmotor and a gear drive for transmitting motion from the electric motorto the shaft of the throttle plate; an actuating device conditioningcircuit defined in the valve body including a seat and a tubeoperatively supported in said seat for the passage of conditioningfluid, said tube in hydraulic communication with a pump that circulatesthe conditioning fluid and feeds it to the tube to condition the variousparts of the throttle valve; said seat including an inner surface formedon at least one of said first and second shell portions, said innersurface terminating at an upper surface of said valve body; wherein thetube is made of a second material different from said first metallicmaterial and that is able to conduct heat, wherein said second materialis selected from a group including: steel, aluminum, or copper; and asubstantially uniform layer of structural and heat-conducting resininterposed between the seat and the tube and applied on the entireavailable inner surface of the seat but wherein the upper surface ofsaid valve body is free of said resin so as to allow fixing of the tubein said seat.
 2. The valve as set forth in claim 1, wherein the tube isfixed in the seat by the layer of structural and heat-conducting resin.3. The valve as set forth in claim 1, further including a lock forconstraining the tube in the appropriate seat, the lock including anumber of fixing brackets or plates distributed along the entire lengthof the tube.
 4. The valve as set forth in claim 1, wherein the throttleplate is made of the same first metal material that makes up the valvebody.
 5. The valve as set forth in claim 1, wherein the seat is open onthe upper side and the surface that defines the seat itself has a shapethat is complementary to an outer surface of the tube.
 6. The valve asset forth in claim 1, wherein the valve body includes a tubular housingarranged next to the feeding duct and housing the electric motor; andwherein the gear drive is arranged in a chamber of the valve bodydefined by first and second shells, the first shell defining a removablelid and the second shell arranged next to the feeding duct and next tothe tubular housing.
 7. The valve as set forth in claim 6, wherein thetube includes a first branch and a second branch extending in thetubular housing, and a curved connecting portion extending between thefirst and second branches.
 8. The valve as set forth in claim 7, whereinthe tube is substantially L-shaped.